


Stay

by cotton_mary



Category: The Good Fight (TV), The Good Wife (TV)
Genre: Angst, Chaos, Episode Related, F/M, Romance, S01E10, post-episode
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-06
Updated: 2017-11-06
Packaged: 2019-01-30 07:04:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 633
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12648576
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cotton_mary/pseuds/cotton_mary
Summary: "Come in. Stay the night."





	Stay

**Author's Note:**

> Might or might not add another chapter. All feedback welcome!

"You're a good man, Kurt."

Lying on the couch, watching the roaring fire, their breathing was the only sound amongst the occasional crack of burning wood. A glass of wine was on their hands, their sides barely touching and a blanket shielding their legs from the slight cold.

"Diane..."

"Don't", she interrupted. "You are."

He looked down at his lap, where his free hand was resting on his left thigh, and he contemplated whether to reach out and touch her. The atmosphere was heavily charged with unspoken words and unasked questions, and yet here they sat, attempting to make it simple.

Her phone was buzzing inside her coat that was thrown over a chair in the corner, her barely aware of the distant interruption, choosing to ignore anything that would snap them out of their quiet moment. She was staying the night, but somehow didn't want the night to start just yet.

She took one more sip of the rich red wine, switched the glass to her left hand and proceeded to put her right over his left thigh, nudging him ever so slightly for more contact. With a glimmer in his eyes, he obeyed by putting his arm around her shoulders and bringing her closer. The proximity provided him with some courage.

"I want to try," he said softly. "This. Us. I want to try, to fix it."

She lifted her head, searching for eyes that didn't want to meet hers. Sighing in resignation, she shifted her gaze to the fire and spoke.

"I was so scared today, Kurt. I couldn't bear the thought of losing you forever-"

"You're not."

"Please let me finish. When I got that call today, I forgot about everything. I was numb to the thought of never seeing you again, and I forgot. Being with you... it takes me out of my comfort zone. Makes me do, say, feel things I normally wouldn't. And being without you, it was worse. I can't go through that again. I won't."

She rested her head against his shoulder and felt a tear roll down her cheek. 'Never make decisions when in mourning', someone said to her once. And she was mourning, in spirit, the loss of a husband she once thought to be perfect. But this decision somehow came naturally, despite her inner voice arguing against it.

He was lovingly rubbing her upper arm and his warmth was weakening her resolve not to decide on anything tonight. A loud crack of burning wood snapped her out of her reverie. She looked up at him and placed a whisper of a kiss to his cheek.

"Diane, I can't... go back in time and undo my mistakes. I can't promise to be the perfect husband."

She sighed quietly into his shoulder. Where was he going with this?

"What I can do, is promise to be the best husband I can be. To make you happy every day of your life. To assure you, I will never put you through something like that again. Please, Diane. Let me try."

She lowered her head and looked at her hand, still resting against his thigh. Concentrated on his hand still rubbing her arm, and his breath still hitting the top of her head. Heard the sound of burning wood, and inhaled the smell of the living room. An essence of wood, smoke and him. An essence of what came to be, for three short years, home. The essence of a life that was meant for her to live. With him.

Her mind wandered to future possibilities of a life together. What it would look like. How it would feel like. Living a complicated life had never been her preference and so, taking a deep breath, she decided to make it simple.

"Okay."

But then what?


End file.
